Lighthouse
by lexilala21
Summary: The thing was, Maya had felt empty and alone. Her little lifeboat floating helplessly, with no land in sight. Lost in the current, drifting further and further away, when he appeared. A beacon of light calling her back to shore. Acting as her lighthouse when she was most unsure of where home was. College AU.
1. Party Time

When Maya started college she imagined it differently. She expected fun, and independence. She thought she might join a sorority, or a club or something. An acapella group, maybe! She expected to see her best friend, Riley—with whom she was supposed to be rooming— all the time, and to get to share the college experience with her. She expected the best years of her life, like it had been described by everyone she knew.

What she got was no good. She was being harassed by a boy in her dorm; who leered at her, catcalled her and insulted her anytime they crossed paths. She was stuck rooming with a girl she didn't know nearly as well, as her best friend had decided at the last minute that she'd rather live in an off campus apartment with her newly appointed fiancé, abandoning Maya and making herself practically unreachable. Some friend, right? And to top it off, Riley, joined a sorority without her. (She had tried rushing, it wasn't for her).

Instead of the wonderful experience she was promised, she was miserable. She was homesick, depressed, and it had only been two months. Depression was nothing new for her, she had dealt with it in high school. Her mistake was expecting college to be a magical cure for her problems. This was the worst it had ever been though. She could hardly eat without vomiting her meals back up, her stomach stuck in a constant state of anxious nausea. She slept every spare moment. She was hardly doing her schoolwork or even attending class. And although school had never exactly been her forte, she had struck a balance in high school that allowed her to get grades good enough to get her into the University of Pennsylvania, though she was surely blowing it now. She was barely above water these days, patiently waiting for when the current would finally drag her under.

So when her roommate, Darby—who was painfully aware of the state of her wellbeing,— marched into their dorm that evening, declaring Maya was going to a party with her, it's safe to say that Maya was less than enthusiastic.

"I don't think so," was all she had said to Darby's exclamation. "Oh no no, I'm not asking you Maya. I'm done watching you wither away in your bed. And although I recognize that this is not the solution to your problems, I also think that getting your mind off them for an evening might be a start. Or at the very least, a break. So get up." Darby ripped Maya's blankets from her bed and began dragging Maya out of her comfort zone in the most literal way. "Alright, shit, I'll go." Maya stood up from the floor where Darby had dragged her, admitting defeat. She lacked the energy to fight anyway. She trudged begrudgingly over to her closet to put on actually pants, as she assumed her pajamas would not do. She refused to dress up, opting for ripped jeans and a white t-shirt, mostly in an effort to piss Darby off for making her go in the first place. This did little to deter Darby, who just waltzed over with a fancy necklace, placing it on her and declaring, "any t-shirt can be jazzed up with jewelry."

"Are you kidding me?" Maya glared at her annoyed. However, it seemed there was little she could do to shift Darby's mood and determination. "I most certainly am not. Now sit down so I can do your hair."

"No thanks."

"Again, I wasn't asking." Darby said guiding her over to her desk chair and forcing her down on it. Maya crossed her arms like a petulant child, more than unhappy with the turn of events. She was more than unhappy most of the time these days though so what's new.

When all was said and done Darby had curled her hair, forced her feet into wedges, and had done her makeup. Creating the illusion that Maya both cared about her appearance, and wanted to be there. It was top notch on Darby's part.

* * *

As Maya wandered around the party alone,—Darby long gone by now, not having the energy to deal with Maya's attitude any longer— she remembered why she hated them. Like all the parties she had attended in high school, they were full of drunk stupid teenagers, acting as such. She barely had the patience to deal with them sober. With the music pulsing around her, Maya thought it best she visit the refreshment table before she left without Darby. Maybe if she were a drunk teenager too she would hate them less. She doubted it, but it was worth a shot. Or ten.

Pouring herself a mix of the strongest liquors she found sitting out seemed like the best approach, and so she did. As she was filling up her cup, Maya felt a pair of hands reach from behind her, covering her eyes. She knew this game, she hated this game. She hated most games, but this one especially, because it reminded her of Riley.

"Darby?" She guessed, since she didn't know anyone here, and no one knew her. "Whose Darby?" A deep voice boomed back at her. Maya would recognize that voice anywhere, and it was just familiar enough to make the ache for home in her chest throb a little more. "Lucas?" Maya asked, spinning around to face him.

Lucas had always been special to Maya. She had liked him most of high school, and he had liked her too. The problem was that Lucas liked most girls, and he expressed as much by being with a different one every week. Never long enough to be a girlfriend, just someone to have fun with, and Maya didn't want to be that kind of girl. So as many times as he had asked her out, and there were too many to count, Maya had always said no—and Lucas never held it against her.

"Darby is my roommate, and the reason I am attending this lovely gathering." Maya's voice dripped with sarcasm and Lucas smiled. "What about Riley? I thought you guys were like, attached at the hip." Maya winced, every reminder of Riley was a fresh knife slicing into her back once more. "Riley followed the sparkly diamond ring that Farkle dangled in front of her into a shiny new apartment and life of domesticity."

"No shit, they got engaged?" Maya nodded. "Good for them." Lucas continued, clearly missing the point. Maya rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm. She glanced around the room as Lucas helped himself to a drink. While he wasn't always the most sensitive or thoughtful companion, Maya was glad to see him. She missed so much about home and the ache for it seemed to dull the longer she stood next to him. Lucas finished pouring himself a drink and looked around the party, seeming ready to move on from their conversation. He opened his mouth to bid Maya goodbye, she was sure. "It was good to-"

"Do you want to dance?" Maya cut him off, desperate to delay their eventual goodbyes. She needed the relief that his presence provided right now and she wasn't willing to let him slip away so easily. She knew Lucas would want to dance with her and so she planned to take advantage of it. He looked at her with both surprise and curiosity playing across his features, as if he was unsure of what was happening; but still he gave in to her request, almost too easily. "Absolutely."

Maya locked hands with Lucas and dragged him toward the edge of the crowd. The music was louder there, the bass turned up so high that she could hardly hear any actual music. Maya turned her body towards his and before she had the chance to think about what was happening, Lucas's hands were on her hips and they were moving to the music.

Maya felt slightly awkward at first but a larger part of her was enjoying this too much to care. Lucas pulled her closer and she let him without hesitation. She could tell that Lucas was testing her, seeing where he could put his hands and what he could get away with. Maya had never let him get away with much before, and he had been trying for as long as she could remember. She knew he was enjoying how uninhibited Maya was behaving. She also knew that he didn't expect anything out of her, which made it all the more enjoyable to Maya.

She had come to the party tonight feeling lost and hopeless, violently homesick. But somehow, in between a couple of drinks and finding Lucas here, she had began to feel better. Lucas's hands on her hips and his body pressed against hers were not only comforting but they were also dizzying. Turning every sour feeling she had when she was arrived at the party into background noise. The more time she spent with Lucas, the less she felt like she was drowning.

The song vibrating through the house was ending and Lucas began to disentangle himself from Maya. She could tell he didn't want to press his luck with her, but as his hands drifted from her body she could almost feel every painful and desperate thought returning. The homesickness that was an afterthought only a moment ago began to throb toward the front of her mind, ready to once again pull her under. And so as Maya watched in fear as Lucas started to say goodbye once more, she did the only thing she could think of to cling to him just a while longer. She wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him.


	2. Taco Bell

Authors note:

I changed a couple of small things in the first chapter. Most notably, I changed the school they're attending from NYU to University of Pennsylvania. The gang needed to be just a little further from home than NYU. I'm going to try to update once a week on Friday's in the future, so keep an eye out! Without further ado, here's chapter two!

* * *

Lucas's body stilled above her, unsure of what Maya was doing and why. However, it didn't take him long to get past his initial shock and kiss her back anyway. Maya's troubles were all but wiped from her mind as she got lost in him.

After a minute, Lucas began to pull away from her, and reality slapped Maya in the face. She didn't do things like this. She didn't kiss boys randomly at parties. She had spent all of her adolescence trying to be different, —she didn't want to end up in a situation like her mother had with her— and that meant being careful of who she kissed. And yet, when the overwhelming dread she had gotten accustomed to feeling began to return, she decided that it didn't matter.

It didn't matter what kind of girl she was in high school, because right now she was desperate to forget everything that had filled her days with pain as of late and Lucas seemed to be the best way she had found to do that. Without allowing herself too long to dwell on it or think about what she was doing, Maya reached for Lucas, dragging him back down to her.

In what Maya considered to be a shocking turn of events, Lucas did not happily comply. "What're you doing, Maya?"

"What do you mean?" Maya responded annoyed, not appreciating him questioning her motives. What did it matter why she was kissing him? He had been trying to kiss her since they were 14. Shouldn't he just be thankful she finally let him? "Maya, you've been telling me to buzz off for as long as I've known you. As much as I would like to believe that you've finally realized that I'm the total package, I'm not delusional. What's going on?"

"The total package? Are you sure you're not delusional?"

"Maya." For some reason, Lucas had always been able to see through her. She hated it. And as much as she wanted to walk away from him right now, if nothing more than to avoid having an actual conversation with someone, she needed him. She needed the numbness that kissing him provided, the lack of emotions that were attached to it. She was desperate, and he had provided the first escape she'd found in months, she wasn't going to give that up. So instead, she'd lie.

"Nothing is going on. I'm just not a little girl anymore, and this isn't high school. I don't have a reputation to protect from the mean girls and I'm interested in having some fun. If you're not, then I'd be happy to find someone at this party who is," Maya glanced down as she said this to see Lucas clenching his fists, and when she returned her gaze to his green eyes, they had darkened. She smirked, knowing she had him exactly where she wanted him. "I'm sure that it wouldn't be all that hard for me to find a boy here who has similar interests," she continued. Lucas stared intently at her for a moment, and then just a quickly as before, his hand was on the back of her neck and he had pulled her lips to his once more.

Maya enjoyed this kiss even more. Everything about Lucas was far more intoxicating than she had ever imagined. Maya couldn't get enough of him and the way this made her feel, and she wanted more. She wanted to leave the crowded party and living room full people and find somewhere that she could have him all to herself. She knew she shouldn't, and that if she went there, it wasn't something she could take back. But in that moment she decided to stop denying herself the things that could ease her pain, or at least numb it. After all, what good was college if you didn't do a few crazy things? At least if she did them with Lucas, she knew in the end she'd be left relatively unscathed.

She wasn't going to fall for Lucas and she knew Lucas wouldn't fall for her. She had spent to long hearing about his reputation and watching him be incapable of a long term relationship to allow herself to even enter into a headspace that let her have real feelings for him let alone fall in love with him. She simply knew that it would never be a real relationship. It would just be a physical one, especially for him. And that made her feel safe enough to pursue it.

"Do you have a dorm room or something?" Maya asked, only separating herself from him slightly.

"Uh, an apartment off campus. My parents didn't want me to close to the action, something about getting into trouble they couldn't bail me out of." Lucas answered and swiftly leaned toward her once more. They made out for a moment before Maya interrupted again. "You got a roommate in this off campus apartment?"

"No, just me." He responded quickly, going back to kissing her before Maya could even process his answer.

Maya pulled back again. "Did you drive here?" Lucas had begun kissing her neck before she could finish asking the question, but seemed to murmur an affirmative to it against her skin. Maya began to get frustrated, as he didn't seem to be getting the message. His lips had made their way back toward hers, and just as he was about to return to them, she placed a hand over his mouth to stop him in his tracks.

"Geez Huckleberry, do I have to spell it out for you? I'd like to go home with you tonight. Preferably right now." Lucas looked surprised for a moment before smiling at her and chuckling. Maya had half a mind to be offended by his response to her offer, but Lucas spoke before she got the chance to give him a piece of her mind. "Haven't heard that name in a while." Lucas looked at her warmly, and Maya felt her insides melt a little. For the first time in a long time, she almost felt happy.

"Mmm, well if you play your cards right, I might be screaming it later." She watched as Lucas's green eyes darkened for the second time that night, but this time, she felt a shiver go down her spine in anticipation. "Let's go," Lucas commanded, grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the party.

* * *

Maya sat in Lucas's Jeep, humming with excitement. The further away they got from the party, the farther away from her problems she felt and the more sure she was of her choices. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she failed to notice where they were going. "You hungry?" Maya looked at Lucas, confused by his question, and then back at her surroundings. "What the hell, Ranger Rick? You live at Taco Bell or something? Cause I can't think of any other good reason why we'd be here instead of your apartment."

"Relax Maya," Lucas sighed. "I haven't had an actual conversation with you in like three years. I thought it might be nice to do that before we do anything else." Maya glared at Lucas, unhappy with this turn of events. She wasn't interested in becoming his best friend, she just wanted a way to numb the pain. "Lucas, we talked all the time in high school. It hasn't even been that long."

"Maya, come on. You were shocked to see me at that party tonight. It was almost like you forgot we both went to the same school." Lucas said, rolling his eyes. Maya huffed. "So what? And what does that even have to do with anything? I thought this is what you did. I thought you slept with random girls all the time without giving a crap about consequences."

"You're not a random girl, Maya." Lucas looked at her earnestly and Maya squirmed under his gaze. The way he was looking at her made her anxious and she found herself annoyed by these antics as he pulled up to the drive thru. She didn't want to seem to eager to be back at his place but she also wasn't particularly interested in connecting on an emotional level. She was interested in a physical connection, that was it. Or at least that's what she kept telling herself.

"Come on, Maya. We'll make it back to my apartment soon enough. Have something to eat." Lucas pleaded with her, and Maya sighed. She was hungry, and it wouldn't hurt that much to have a conversation with him, right? "I'll take two tacos and a Pepsi." Lucas smiled smugly at her, happy to have gotten his way and Maya rolled her eyes.

* * *

Once they had received their food, Lucas parked the car so they could eat, displeasing Maya once more. "Can't we, like, go eat at your place? Do we have to eat in the car?" The car was tiny, and it provided Maya with no escape. She would be forced to have a conversation and she wasn't even sure what she'd say to him. Or that she even wanted to say anything at all. "Yes because I want to eat my burritos while they're hot." Lucas said, ignoring her protest like he had all night and distributing their food. Maya sighed, seeing no way around her current situation. So she picked up her taco and dug in.

"So what do you think you're gonna write your final essay on for Bernthal's class? Nothing that we've read so far is even remotely interesting. I never thought poetry would be this boring." Lucas chatted, trying to make light conversation. It caught her off guard though, and Maya turned her head toward Lucas, narrowing her eyes. Was he in one of her classes? She'd remember if he was, right? "What're you talking about, Huckleberry?" Lucas gave her an incredulous look. "Oh my god, did you seriously not notice we had a class together? I sit two seats away from you Maya," Lucas lectured, his tone full of disbelief.

"Well, then you've probably noticed I don't attend class all that often." Maya shot back.

"Yeah, what's that about?" The look on his face changed from irritation to concern so quickly that Maya found herself off balance. She'd never really spent this much time alone with Lucas, and certainly not in this close of a proximity. She was beginning to understand why he had a line of girls waiting for his attention at all times. He was dizzying. He looked at her with such genuine attention that she wholeheartedly believed he cared about her and what was going on with her. It was no wonder he was a player in high school, he probably didn't even have to try. It was a good thing she knew better.

After a moment, Maya scoffed and responded, "I just don't like school," as if it were the most obvious answer in the world but Lucas saw right through her. "You're telling me that someone who just doesn't like school happened to get into one of the most prestigious schools on the east coast?" Lucas intoned sarcastically. "I don't know about you Maya, but my grades had to be pretty good to get in here."

"Hmm, well that's exactly what I'm telling you, so sounds to me like you have a pretty good grasp on the situation," Maya answered. She stared him down, daring him to argue with her. For a moment she thought he might. That he would call her on her bullshit and ask what's going on with her, or worse, actually figure it out. But he didn't. Lucas seemed to get how uninterested she was in talking about this and decided not to press her on it. Once the moment had passed, Maya was able to breathe again. But as she took a deep breath, a funny feeling settled in her stomach. She wasn't so sure anymore that it would've been a bad thing for someone who knew her to see what was going on.


	3. Avoiding Things

Authors note: I was just a little bit late on my Friday deadline, but to be honest I probably always will be. This chapter is mostly just plot establishment, and not very exciting. I really had a hard time writing this one too, so hope it is okay. Without further ado, enjoy Chapter Three!

* * *

Maya stood behind Lucas as he unlocked his apartment door. She was shivering a little, but it was unclear to her if the cause was the the cold fall night or a sudden fear seeping into her bones. The closer she got to walking into Lucas's apartment, the more she began to chicken out. What had seemed like a good plan in theory felt less so now. "Make yourself at home," Lucas announced as they walked in. Maya took off her coat, placing it on the rack by the door, and began to look around.

Maya noted that Lucas's apartment was small and clean. The little kitchen had no dishes in the sink and in the living room she saw nothing thrown haphazardly on his couch. Maya wasn't sure why she had assumed he would not be put together, but Lucas was continuing to surprise her. "Nice place."

"Thanks," Lucas smiled at her, walking into the kitchen, "can I get you anything to drink? Soda, beer?"

"Uh, water would be great."

"Coming right up." Lucas opened his fridge, grabbing a water bottle. Maya took this opportunity to glance into his fridge and examine it's contents, expecting to at least see a beer-filled mess there. Maya had always believed you could tell a lot about a person by the inside of their fridge. Instead of a mess though, she saw a fridge as organized and clean as the rest of his apartment.

Maya took a seat on his couch. Lucas joined her shortly after, bringing with him a beer for himself and a water bottle for her. "So how come your apartment is so far away? It must take you at least fifteen minutes to get to school." Maya's attempt to make small talk while she decided whether or not she would go through with this was weak, but Lucas played along anyway. "Twenty actually. Twenty-five in traffic. It's like I said, my parents wanted me away from the action. They figure I won't really be able to throw any crazy parties since most students don't have cars or want to drive that far."

"Are they right?" Maya asked. Looking around at how clean it was, she couldn't imagine he was throwing a lot of ragers. "Sort of. I mean, I don't really know for sure cause I haven't really tested the theory. I like that I have a quiet place to come back to after a party. Also, I can't take a girl home if I'm hosting so." Maya laughed. "Ah, so you haven't changed. For a second there you had me worried you'd gone soft and were over the party scene." Lucas chuckled, "me? Soft? Never."

A silence spread throughout the room and Maya sat there awkwardly playing with her hands. After a moment had passed, Lucas broke the silence with a question that had Maya's stomach filling with anxiety. "So I know you told me earlier that they were engaged, but other than that, how are Riley and Farkle?"

Maya grimaced and looked toward the ceiling. She wanted to pretend like he hadn't asked the question but she knew the longer she avoided it the more curious he would get. "They're good I assume, I don't really talk with them much now-a-days." With a sadness settling over her, Maya answered the question, and remembered why she was here. Forgetting. Lucas was good at helping her forget, and she needed to forget, right now. She moved toward him and pulled him closer before he had time to think about the answer she had given to his question. Lucas kissed her back, and all of Maya's problems receded to the back of her mind, the only thing that mattered now was how good this made her feel.

Maya and Lucas were pressed together, without an inch of space between them. Maya pulled back slightly to tug up the hem of Lucas's shirt. Lucas easily pulled it off and as Maya looked at his chest she mentally acknowledged that this was also probably part of the reason it had been so easy for him to go from girl to girl all these years. Once his shirt was off he paused, looking at Maya for a moment. She didn't like how concerned he was looking at her, waiting for for her to back out at any minute, and ready to quietly accept it if she did. It made this a challenge to Maya, to prove she could be that girl. So when Lucas said, "are you sure about this?" Maya only looked at him for a moment, before she quickly nodded and removed her own shirt to prove her resolve. Just as swiftly as she had offered her consent, Lucas had picked her up and moved them to his bedroom.

* * *

Maya would like to say that when she woke up the next morning, turning to see Lucas laying beside her, that she felt better. That she had done more than just numb or compound the problems she already had. That would be a lie however, because Maya only felt worse. The pain had returned and with it came shame.

Lucas slept soundly beside her, so as quickly and as quietly as she could, she gathered her things. Once she was dressed, she slipped out of his apartment to meet the Uber she had ordered and head back to school. She didn't want to be there when Lucas woke up, and create an awkward situation for herself. Maya didn't know much about casual sex, but she was sure that breakfast probably wasn't involved.

When Maya got back to campus, everything around her was dead and quiet. She had never seen the school this early in the day—most of the time she barely made it out of bed by noon if at all—and it was nice. She strolled leisurely back to her dorm, enjoying the quiet, and knowing that Darby was going to have a million questions for her upon her return. Avoiding was her style after all. Maya stopped at the food truck just outside of her dorm to grab a muffin or something, and stopped dead in her tracks.

There, snuggled up against a tree, sat Riley and Farkle, oblivious to the world around them. Why would they hang out here of all places? Didn't they know this was her dorm? Maya had half a mind to go up to them and ask why she had become an afterthought in their life, but she had preferred to avoid the situation instead. The dark cloud looming over her didn't allow her the opportunity to hear one of the only people who had ever mattered to her, reject her officially. It was easier to stay in the state of limbo she currently resided in, where she didn't know what happened or if anything had. Where she could pretend nothing was officially wrong, and that it wouldn't be weird to call Riley up out of the blue. So Maya turned from them and headed inside before they had the chance to damage her more than she already was, the muffin she was planning on getting forgotten.

* * *

It wasn't typical for Maya to find the dorm this empty, the students clearly still in bed sleeping off their Friday nights. The longer Maya was awake, the more she wished she were doing the same. She trudged up the stairs, heading to the third floor where her room was located. When she arrived at her floor, her morning only continued on its downward descent. Of all the people to be awake and leaving their dorm this early, he was the person she had wanted to avoid the seeing the most. She hated seeing him at any time of day really, but especially this morning.

"Well well, look who it is doing the walk of shame. Did you have a good night, Maya? I hope you got paid what your worth." Tyler sneered at her. Tyler was another freshman in her dorm who had made it his personal mission to make Maya's life a living hell after she turned him down their first week here. He was tall and strong, and he took every chance he got to harass her. And Maya just took it because she knew that it would do no good to tell someone, as colleges weren't known for doing much about this kind of thing anyway. "Fuck off." Maya shot back at him immediately, her sharp tongue her only defense.

Tyler just smirked. "Make me," he said, corning her before she could get to her dorm. Maya shoved him away instinctually, and took off toward her dorm. Tyler laughed behind her but he didn't follow, seeming to enjoy watching her scurry away in fear. She hurried to lock herself inside her room before he changed his mind. As she clicked the lock in place, she heard him shout "nice ass."

Tyler's advances had become more aggressive with each interaction and Maya was starting to get concerned that the game of cat and mouse he was playing was going to end badly for her. She needed to be more careful, more watchful. She could only come and go during the busier parts of the day, when she knew people were around. No more early mornings and certainly no late nights. This is why she was safer if she just stayed in her bed. Every time she left it something bad happened. She should just stay in her bed until the school finally realizes they made a mistake when they let her in and kicks her out.

She looked around the dorm, seeing that Darby had not come home last night either, and sent a silent thanks to the universe for at least letting this one thing go her way today. Maya peeled off her clothes from the night before, slipping back into the yoga pants and t-shirts she had become accustomed to wearing, and crawled into her bed, ready to sleep until Monday.

She had just started to fall asleep when her phone began to ring. Groaning, Maya sat up and looked at her phone, only to see Lucas's name on the screen. She allowed it to ring for a few seconds, contemplating whether or not she would answer. Ultimately, she decided it would be rude not to, as he might just be calling to ask if she got home safe, and she picked up.

"I'm back in my dorm safe and sound and trying to take a nap Huckleberry. What do you want?" She answered without so much as hello. She wanted this conversation to be quick. "Well, for starters, I want to know why the hell you thought it would be okay to just leave without even saying goodbye this morning?" Lucas answered back, and although Maya could not see his face, she knew he was frowning aggressively.

"Sorry if I didn't want to hang around for a 'we just had sex' pity breakfast." She sassed. She could practically feel Lucas's displeasure through the phone when she said that, and it made her squirm.

"Maya," Lucas sighed, and for a moment the line was silent before Maya broke it, not able to take anymore of his disapproval. "Look, it's not big deal Lucas. It was a one time thing, it's over. Let's move on, okay?"

"Not okay! We need to talk about this. Anyway, I'm outside your dorm, so open up." Maya sat up in shock. "What do you mean your outside my dorm? How do you even know which dorm I'm in?" She questioned.

"Riley told me. Come on, I'm outside your door, let me in. I brought breakfast."


	4. Riley Says

I missed a week! I'm sorry. The holidays had me busier than I had thought and I just didn't end up having time to write until today. As a result, this is a little shorter than I wanted.

I'm so sad about the show being canceled, but I encourage everyone to sign the petitions that are floating around. So many shows have been saved that way before! It could definitely be better for the show in the long run to have the artistic freedom to do some of the things that weren't permitted on the Disney Channel.

Without further ado, here is Chapter Four!

* * *

When Lucas woke up that morning and found that he was alone, he didn't think too much of it. Maya was independent, so it wasn't a surprise that she had let herself out. And although he was definitely a little annoyed that she didn't even let him know she was leaving, and wished she would've stayed so he could at least make sure she was okay, he didn't think he needed to _worry_ about her either. Besides, he was hungry. So he decided to put Maya out of his mind, and head into his kitchen to make breakfast. Hunger was always the most pressing matter for Lucas anyway.

As Lucas searched around his fridge his phone began to ring. He ignored it at first, but whoever it was, was persistent, and Lucas could only think of one person that eager to talk to him this early in the morning. "Hi Riley." He answered. The hyper brunette on the other end hardly hearing him, talked on. "Lucas? It's Riley. We need to talk."

"I know who it is, Riley. How can I help you?"

"What do you mean how can you help me? I obviously want to know what happened last night! How is Maya? Did you make sure she got home safely?" Lucas sighed at her questions, as he continued to dig through his fridge. He had been hoping to avoid this conversation, because although he didn't want to lie to Riley, he also wasn't particularly excited to tell her the truth. "Uh, she seemed a little off but mostly okay," He answered vaguely.

"A little off or a lot off? Her roommate, Darby, seems to think she's depressed. I know she's had problems with depression before and is prone to it, so it's definitely likely. But she's not gonna tell anyone if she is, especially me," Riley was talking a mile a minute and Lucas was barely keeping up. He was too hungry and tired to deal with Riley this early. "That's why I sent you to the party. I wanted a second opinion, someone who at least knows Maya, although I know you don't know her that-"

"Riley!" Lucas interrupted, "let me talk to Farkle."

"What? No way, you can't talk to Farkle. You're talking to me, mister, and that-" Riley's voice faded and Lucas heard a muffled tussle between Riley and Farkle as they battled over who would talk to him, until finally he was greeted with the answer to his request. "Good morning, Lucas."

"Morning Farkle. Does she always have this much energy?" Lucas asked as he slammed his refrigerator shut, finally having decided he would have to go out to breakfast, and heading toward his room to get dressed. "When it comes to Maya, yes. She has enough energy to take on the world."

"And she's got Maya's roommate in on this too?"

"Oh yeah, Riley hand picked her to be Maya's roommate the second she decided to live with me."

"I still don't get why she doesn't just talk to Maya herself. Maya's pretty pissed that she hasn't heard from Riley." Lucas offered as he searched the piles of clothes on his floor for something clean to wear. It seemed to him that Maya's biggest problem was Riley, and that everything would be better the minute Riley threw her a bone. But what did he know, right?

"I don't know man, you're probably right. But Riley insists that Maya would still be mad at her for choosing to move in with me even if she says she's not, and that what's best for Maya is to learn to navigate without Riley for a while because she won't be there forever. She always says something about it being tough love or whatever."

"It sounds to me like Riley needs to ask Maya what's best for her instead of always deciding for herself what's best. Can't you just tell her she's wrong?" Lucas heard Farkle snort and start laughing as soon as he said this. "What's so funny?" Lucas questioned innocently. "Have you met Riley?" Farkle answered still snickering. Lucas glared at his phone as Farkle continued to laugh but conceded. "Can't Riley hear you?"

"No, I'm hiding in the bathroom." Lucas got his turn to laugh at Farkle when he heard this. "Wow, you're really living the life, Minkus. Tell me more about how great monogamy is."

"Shut up," Farkle responded shortly. Lucas could hear some commotion in the background and wondered for how much longer Farkle would be alone. "Anyway, back to the matter at hand."

"Right, Maya," Lucas sighed again, throwing himself down on his bed. The longer he talked to Riley and Farkle, the more he was beginning to think he had made the wrong choice last night bringing Maya back to his place. He had wished Riley had given him a bit more of this information last night before she had sent him to the party to look after Maya, but that was neither here nor there. He rationalized in his head that Maya was determined to go home with someone, so it was better that it had been him, right? Lucas was pulled from his thoughts when he heard another sort of scuffle on Farkles end of the line, quickly followed by Riley's voice filling up his speaker once more.

"Lucas, it's Riley again," she began. "We didn't finish our conversation before you and Farkle so rudely interrupted it. Now first things first, did you make sure Maya got back to her dorm safely like I asked? And also, around what time last night would that have been?" Lucas was silent for a moment, thinking about the way he could best answer Riley's question. He ultimately decided to go with the most evasive answer that he could think of, and kept his fingers crossed that he would remain unscathed. "Um, well, she was definitely safe last night."

"What do you mean? That's not an answer. What time did she return to her dorm?"

"I'm not positive. It was early." Lucas evaded the question again, providing Riley with a half truth that he thought would please her. But alas, his method did not and would not satiate her need to know exactly where Maya was every moment and she soldiered on. "Okay, well what time did she leave the party?"

"Uh, it was around like one AM."

"That's not early Lucas, how could you let her leave the party without you?" Riley said, disapproval leaking into her tone. "Oh I didn't. We left the party together." Lucas replied without thinking, hitting himself on the forehead as he immediately regreted his response. "Okay, so then she must have got back to her dorm around one?"

"I'm not sure." Lucas continued to dodge Riley's seemingly never ending stream of questions with as much precision as possible, but he could tell that she was at the end of her patience. He would not be able to keep up this line of responses if she continued to ask the same questions. It seemed to him that she would not stop until she had gotten the answer she liked. However, Lucas was afraid that if he lied she would just find out the truth from Maya's roommate and come after him, and that alternative seemed much worse.

"How can you not be sure?" Riley asked, and Lucas could hear the frustration in her voice. He could only imagine how angry she'd be if she knew what had actually happened. "Oh, well, she left without telling me." Lucas continued, giving Riley the run-around and hoping that she would just tire out, but he should've known that that was hopeless. After all it was like Farkle had said, when it comes to Maya, Riley had all the energy in the world. "I thought you said you left the party together." Riley said, slowly enunciating each word as her frustration began to reach a boiling point. "I did?"

"LUCAS FRIAR! I swear to God if you don't start telling a story that makes some kind of sense I will drive to your apartment, drag you out by your hair, and hit you with my car until it does!"

"OKAY! Okay, geez. Maya stayed the night at my place and left early this morning before I woke up." Lucas braced himself for the inevitable berating that he was about to receive from Riley as soon as he answered, only to hear her respond in quiet confusion. "Why would you take Maya back to your place instead of her dorm?" She asked naively, and Lucas breathed a sigh of relief, until he heard Farkle's laughter and voice explaining the situation to Riley. "Farkle, NO-"

"LUCAS FRIAR YOU DID WHAT WITH MY BEST FRIEND!" Lucas winced, pulling the phone away from his ear as Riley began to shout expletives that he didn't think she had even known. This went on for a minute, and Lucas only put the phone back against his ear when he heard Farkle's much calmer and more rational voice on the other end.

"Thanks a lot Lucas. Now Riley is insisting that we go sit in front of Maya's dorm all morning to make sure she made it in safe." Lucas put Farkle on speaker and began to tie his shoes. He felt bad that Farkle was going to have to clean up this mess, but his patience with Riley was waning, as was his energy level without food in his stomach. "Sorry, Farkle. Tough break man."

Lucas heard Farkle chuckling, "What did I say now that's so funny?" He asked. "It's not what you said, it's that you're under the impression that you're off the hook now." Farkle chortled again before continuing, and Lucas finished lacing up his shoes annoyed. If Riley thought she could run his life, then she had another thing coming. "Riley says, and I'm quoting here, 'If you don't find yourself knocking on Maya's door in the next thirty minutes to make sure she is okay after your serious error in judgement, then she will personally make your life a living hell, starting with calling your mama,' and again, that is a direct quote." Farkle finished still chuckling. Lucas shivered at the mention of his mama, and conceded that maybe, at least for now, he would do as Riley asked of him. He was far more afraid of what his mama would do than he was of Riley. Besides, he had decided over the course of their conversation that he didn't like Maya just taking off like that anyway, and that even if Riley hadn't told him to he probably would've ended up at Maya's dorm at some point during the day. He just especially felt this way now. "Tell Riley I'm on it," he said gathering his keys and heading toward his door. "Tell her I'll even bring Maya breakfast."


End file.
